The next morning, Jang Yu's social feed has his friends baffled.
"He messaged me last night saying he fought off traffickers with a cleaver from one end of the street to the other. Is he actually hurt? Should we go check on him?"
Lu Yaoyao sighs. "Don't believe a word. He got chased by a stray dog."
She's half fond, half exasperated. This idiot is out here making things up again.
She brings the two of them over to Jang Yu's place. "Don't believe me? Go see for yourselves."
She reaches for the key out of habit.
Fang Yu speaks up. "Yaoyao, why do you have a key to his place?"
Lu Yaoyao stiffens. She turns her head stiffly. "Uncle Li gave it to me."
She doesn't explain further, just pushes the door open and calls out, "Jang Yu, we're here to see you."
A yelp of pain answers them. Jang Yu is crouched on the floor, clutching his stomach. He's gasping. "Rookie mistake. You really can't just pick off a scab whenever you feel like it."
Lu Yaoyao rushes over and steadies him. "Why did you take the bandages off?"
Jang Yu laughs sheepishly. "I thought I was healed."
Fang Yu's eyes widen. So what he posted last night was real.
Lu Yuchong nods beside her. "I'm thinking the same thing."
They both step forward and immediately start grabbing at him. Lu Yuchong's eyes go wide with envy. "When did you get built like this?"
Fang Yu is poking and prodding from the other side.
Lu Yaoyao walks over and shoves them both out of the room. "All right, that's enough. Go sit in the living room."
The door slams behind them. The two of them stand there staring at each other.
"Are they a thing?"
"Probably. I'd say eighty percent chance."
Inside, a delicate hand moves a cotton swab gently across his abs. The soft sound of a man's contented breath follows.
Lu Yaoyao rolls her eyes at him. "Stop making those sounds. This isn't even painful and we both know it."
Jang Yu doesn't answer, because his eyes have landed somewhere entirely different.
"You must have got kicked in the head," she continues. "A perfectly good scab and you had to rip it off."
Then she notices where he's looking. She's speechless. She pulls her hand back. "You're terrible for your age. I'll have Lu Yuchong do this instead."
"No, no, no. He's clumsy. It's not a good idea."
Lu Yaoyao makes a sound that's impossible to read. Then she reaches out and pinches his cheek hard. "Uncle Li has been way too soft on you lately."
Jang Yu thinks to himself, Eight hundred times wouldn't help.
Lu Yaoyao puffs her cheeks and glares. "What did you actually do last night? And don't say robbery."
"Try me."
Jang Yu sticks to his story. "Genuinely a heroic act of justice."
Lu Yaoyao's eyes are full of doubt. "Right. You never say anything straight."
Jang Yu feels genuinely helpless. What am I supposed to say? That I went into the shadow realm, killed an aberrant, and had a heart-to-heart with a Night Watch member? Would you believe that?
Jang Yu lets it go. He wraps himself back up and asks, "Hey. What time did Uncle Lu get home last night?"
Lu Yaoyao looks at him oddly. "He didn't. Why?"
Jang Yu shakes his head. "Nothing. Just, Night Watch people work hard. Day shifts, night shifts, and it's dangerous."
Lu Yaoyao goes quiet.
Watching her expression, Jang Yu feels a quiet sadness. She must worry about him all the time. Night Watch members rarely make it through a full life unscathed. Uncle Li lost an arm. Lin Mo was only twenty years old. Even someone as strong as Uncle Lu took injuries serious enough to damage his foundation. He'll never be able to advance further.
Then Lu Yaoyao speaks up. "If you pass the combat exam, would you join the Night Watch?"
The question lands heavy. The room goes still.
Jang Yu doesn't answer right away. After a long pause, he says slowly, "I don't know."
But he stops there. Something flickers in Lu Yaoyao's eyes, and the next instant, her expression darkens. Because Jang Yu just asked if there are a lot of pretty women in the Night Watch.
Lu Yaoyao's face goes red. She grabs his cheeks with both hands and squeezes. "Shut up."
"Ow. Ow. Stop pinching. What kind of girl does this?"
Neither of them realizes their entire exchange is being heard through the door.
Lu Yuchong glances at Fang Yu. "What is going on in there?"
Fang Yu gives him a look. "What do you think?"
A moment later, Jang Yu and Lu Yaoyao step out. All four of them look at each other. The silence is awkward.
Jang Yu laughs first and breaks it. "You two. What are you doing here?"
Lu Yuchong stares at him. "You were out here telling wild stories last night. We came to see what actually happened."
Fang Yu looks equally awkward. Their expressions are stiff. "You okay?"
The reason is simple. They spotted what looks like a strawberry-shaped mark on Jang Yu's arm. Suddenly they have a whole new respect for Lu Yaoyao's boldness.
Jang Yu drops onto the couch and waves them off. "Relax. I'm not dead yet. Come sit down."
Once they're seated, Jang Yu launches in without missing a beat, exaggerating every detail for full effect. "You should have been there. I just left the store. Soy sauce and vinegar in hand. Bunch of other stuff too. When out of nowhere, this massive guy comes flying past, clutching a seriously expensive bag."
Lu Yaoyao shoots him a long glare. She's done with this man and his endless bragging. She picks up Jang Yu's beat up clothes and glances back. "I'm heading to the store. These are both torn. I'll toss them on the way."
Jang Yu waves her off without looking up. "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead."
Then he's right back at it. "So then eighty guys came charging out of the woods and I—"
He stops mid-sentence. Something clicks. He bolts after her. "Wait. There's still something in those pockets."
Lu Yaoyao turns around, confused. Right on cue, something tumbles out of the bundle and hits the floor. Lu Yaoyao looks down.
It's a pack of feminine hygiene products.
The next second, she explodes. Her face darkens instantly. "Why do you have— What is this?"
Jang Yu gives a sheepish, unbothered grin. "You had stomach pain yesterday, right? So when I went to the store, I figured I'd grab a pack for you. Thought it'd be a nice surprise."
Fang Yu and Lu Yuchong are already wearing full spectator faces. "That's the kind of thing only couples do," one of them murmurs.
"This is way too juicy to keep to ourselves."
Jang Yu, clearly proud of himself, presses the pack into her hands. "Keep it. Just tell me whenever you need more."
That expectant look on his face, waiting to be praised, leaves Lu Yaoyao completely speechless. The next moment, she grabs it and twists it into a tight roll. Then she flings it hard. Her face is burning red. "I don't need it."
The projectile smacks Jang Yu square in the forehead. A moment later, the door slams.
Jang Yu rubs his swollen forehead with a wounded look. "What's she so mad about all of a sudden? That makes no sense."
Lu Yuchong decides the show is over. He gets up. "We'll head out. Keep it up, man. We're rooting for you too."